Schell made his U.S. screen debut in 1958 and won an Oscar in 1961 for his role as the defense attorney in Judgment at Nuremberg; later he would receive Oscar nominations for roles in The Man in the Glass Booth (1971) and Julia (1977). Schell expanded his range, producing and acting in an adaptation of Kafka'sThe Castle (1968). He wrote, produced, and directed a version of Turgenev'sFirst Love (1970) and later wrote, produced, directed, and starred in The Pedestrian, which was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Foreign Language Film (1973). His sister is actress Maria Schell, with whom he costarred in The Odessa File (1974).